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Australian Consumer Law and Fundraising Guide

A new Australian Consumer Law and Fundraising Guide has been released to support not-for-profits on how the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) applies to their organisations.

The State and Territory regulators along with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released the 'Guide to Australian Cosumer Law: For Fundraising and Other Activities of Charities, Not-for-Profits and Fundraisers'.

The ACL is the Commonwealth law for fair trading and consumer protection. It provides, amongst other things, specific obligations in relation to unfair practices and consumer transactions.

Most notably, the guide indicates fundraising activities may attract obligations under the ACL where an entity:

engages in fundraising activities involving the supply of goods or services; or

is a for-profit professional fundraiser; or

is fundraising in an organised, continuous and repetitive way.

The guide provides helpful information and a number of examples that may assist you in determining whether the ACL applies to your organisation’s activities.